4th and Goal Commentary - May 21, 2001
Young Potential Robbed By Porn
By Bill McCartney
He was 14 and full of potential, a college coach's dream.
I'm Bill McCartney... It's 4TH and Goal!
Never late for practice, this kid had a mind for the game and was destined
for a bright future. In an effort to thank his dad for the inspiration
he'd been, Ryan decided to take some of his dad's old baseball memorabilia,
and make it into a small scrap book, as a gift.
So, he rushed home from practice, ran up to the attic and started rummaging
through the boxes marked "Dad." That's when it all started.
It was then that Ryan was first exposed to pornography.
His sexual desires were molded by the images he saw in books, magazines,
and videos. Tragically, what Ryan never set out to find ended up
mastering him. While this promising young man continued to enjoy
success on the baseball diamond, he'd have traded all of it if he could
remove the shame and bitterness he now carried with him.
Several years later, he learned about Pure Life Ministries and their
residential program for men who struggle with sexual addictions.
A friend told Ryan that there was hope - that he didn't have to go on living
in bondage to pornography. It was possible for him to live a sexually
pure life.
Steve Gallagher, President of Pure Life Ministries, finishes Ryan's
story for us. "When I looked into Ryan's eyes for the first time I saw
a desperate man. I could tell, by listening to him, that he was tired
of being dominated by lust and perversion. He came to us determined
to walk away a different man."
Gallagher goes on, "Over the next six months I watched as Ryan's life
was transformed. Towards the end of his stay at Pure Life,
his eyes beamed with life, and he talked a lot about his new-found freedom.
I knew he got what he came here for."
Guys, May is Victims of Pornography Month. If you're struggling with
pornography, Pure Life Ministries is a place you can turn to and get help.
They can be found on the web at www.purelifeministries.org, or you can
reach them by phone by calling 1.800.635.1866.
I'm Coach Bill McCartney.
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